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/ " tir' a a WA LIA wd lt LEN ~~ » x ae Sb x SIE Ba Arh em Sp BLE Seat Ch R aX Te SEN < 12 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Wednesday, May 17, 1978 B.J. the D.J. but he soothes of the nerves of Mom in his final hour with the "softer sounds." In a "sfutty small room carpeted from floor to ceil- ing with a short shag sits a man encircled by a panel of knobs, switches and dials. . Above a window which looks into a bare room, a long arm extends towards the control panel where a microphone protrudes at mouth level. Two bulbs are missing from the light fixture in the dimly lit room and the sound- proof door is held open by a small piece of wood. On the walls are racks of records and stacked on the floor a pile of records wait to be filed. As he sits on an old swivel chair, the DJ, with ear- phones protruding from his head, slides up to the micro- phone and begins to talk to his audience. "Here's a great little song that I like and I'm sure you're going to like too," he utters and then right on cue throws a turn- table switch and the voice of Dolly Parton echos over the air waves throughout Dur- ham Region. He then swivels around in his chair, takes a drag from what is left of his cigarette and dunks a girl guide cookie into his lukewarm coffee. Glancing back to the panel he checks the setting and begins to cue-up another record. This is how Bill Johnson, DJ at CHOO radio in Ajax spends four hours of every day. The Bill Johnson show is a popular one with country listeners, and he thinks that part of the reason for his show popularity, which has about 60,000 plus listeners, is because of his knowledge of music. Bill first got started in music taking piano lessons as a young boy. He didn't like practicing so gave it up, but did learn enough about reading music to enable him to play the church organ in Ringwood for about eight years. At high school in Stouff- ville, Bill dabbled with the piano and landed his first paid job playing at a square dance at the Claremont Hall. He received $3.00 for this effort which wqnt from 8 p.m. to midnight. When about 16, he was asked if he could play the guitar, to which he replied, "I can learn'. Two weeks later he played in a group. Since then Bill has played in a lot of groups and bars, but he says one of his best breaks was in 1972 when he and three other fellows were approached by Carling Breweries to become the "Barley Sandwich Boys'. As a member of this group, he travelled extensively for the brewery promoting their new ale, "Calgary Export'. The name Bill Johnson first became familiar in the Port Perry area about 1970, when he was positioned in the town as a sales and A NT 00 gli service rep for Greenwood T.V. This business was an offspring of the main store in Stouffville, where Bill had worked servicing radio and TV for a number of years. For the past two years Bill has lived on a farm on Scugog Island and he has become an avid 'Horse fan. Although Jan was at one time a professional rider and trainer of horses, Bill says that they now just use the horses for pleasure. Jan and Bill now have four horses at the farm and they spend a lot of time with them. In the summer they plan a number of trips with their camper and will spend much time riding trails and through the bush. Aside from the horses, Bill likes to spend time around the farm. "It's an escape for me from the hustle and bustle of the radio station and I find it very relaxing," he says. Starting with CHOO radio as a sales representative when the station had just returned to a country format from its previous rock attemp, Bill soon worked his way into programming. It was inevitable because of his extensive knowledge of music that he eventually would become a full time programmer (DJ), and this break came in January 1975. He is very happy with his job. "I have always had a love for music of all kinds, and I enjoy the contact with the people." He has a phone in the studio with two lines that come directly to him, and it is not unusual to have 100 or more calls during a show. Although CHOO radio is known as a country music station, Bill says that it is getting hard to define coun- try music. There have been so many changes in the past few. years there are now different catagories of country music. There is the traditional country and \ western which even Bill ad- mits he is not fond of and now there is country folk, country rock and CHOO's brand which he describes as "easy listening country'. '"This type of music is very middle of the road, and will attract country listeners as well as people who would not ordinarily admit to being a country music fan." It can ~ ""Uptight and Out of Sight" | include artists such as John' Denver, Dolly Parton, Car- penters and even Tom Jones. If you've never net Bill Johnson, but happen to see him walking down the street of Port Perry one day.....stop him. He'll only be too glad to make your acquaintance. And treat him like the guy next door.. That's the way he likes it. w» N wn